Next of Kin
by kismet4891
Summary: AU: For years, Katniss Everdeen had successfully avoided acknowledging Peeta Mellark - the privileged son of the family whose company her dad worked for before his death. When she finally begins to see him in another light and to welcome him into her life, tragedy changes the path of their relationship forever.


**The following is the piece I submitted for the Spring Fling Exchange on Ao3, written for angylinni from the prompt, Everlark AU: "They've never been friends, but both of them have been aware of the other, wondering what might be. She was the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, he was the boy with the world on a platter, they never should have met, or fallen in love."**

* * *

_1992, Age 7_

It was so rare for Peeta's entire family to be in the car together that he couldn't remember the last time it had happened. His mother was complaining loudly about the people and the program that they were headed to see, and it both confused and embarrassed Peeta. He was old enough to realize that the driver could hear them, but not quite old enough to put together why exactly she had a problem with going to see a community program. Peeta was excited for the program; every year they put out punch and cookies, and he got to meet new people and he liked talking to new people.

"Relax." His father interrupted his mother's tirade. "It'll be over before you know it. Besides, we need to be more involved with the community and more visible since we do employ over half the town's residents. Mellark Energy is sponsoring this entire event, after all."

Peeta fiddled with the stiff collar of his pressed shirt; whoever had ironed it had been overly generous with the starch, and the fabric was digging into his neck painfully. His father reached out and tousled his blond curls before helping him adjust the collar. "Besides, the boys always have fun, don't you, Peeta?"

Peeta smiled up at his father, exuberant at being noticed, and he said the first thing that came to mind. "Sure Dad, they always put out the best cookies." The older man laughed good-naturedly, but his mother was not amused and cast a pinched expression at the young boy.

"As if you need any more cookies. With cheeks like that, I'm sure people will mistake you for the baker's child. Maybe you should think twice before stuffing your face tonight. It was cute to be chubby when you were a baby, but it's quickly losing its appeal."

Peeta's face fell, his eyes immediately dropping to his lap to stare at his hands. His mother's words stung almost as painfully as a slap to the cheek and the tears pricking beneath his lids were enough to overshadow the elation he had felt just moments earlier when his father had spoken to him.

For the rest of the car ride, Peeta compared himself to his brothers and found that he came up short in so many ways. They were tall and handsome; his oldest brother was intelligent and the best in his class at boarding school, and his middle brother was athletic and popular. Peeta was chubby, but it was nothing like his mother made it out to be. He merely carried the baby fat from toddlerhood prominently in his cheeks, and this was the type of weight that would eventually fall from his frame with time.

But Peeta didn't know it at the time – all he knew was how much it hurt whenever his mother said things like that to him, and she did so often. Everything he was good at, like painting or helping the cook in the kitchen, were things that made her scoff at him and remind him that he would always fall short of his brothers.

It was a little girl with two braids falling down her back who salvaged his night at the Mellark Energy community event. She was tiny and fearless, wearing a worn red plaid dress and standing beside her father, a man who sat in a chair on stage with a guitar in his lap. They sang together, and while the man's voice was beautiful, it was hers - high and lilting, such an unexpected surprise to come from someone his own age – that took his breath away. Peeta was just as entranced by her voice as he was by the clear bond between the father and daughter, who smiled at one another and sang as if they were the only two people in the world.

Even though he wouldn't remember what they sang, Peeta Mellark found hope in the song and strength of that little girl who appeared to be the same age as him. If she could be brave enough to sing to a room filled with people, then he could be brave enough to not cry when his mother said mean things or when his father didn't have time for him.

While he wished that he knew what it was like to have someone who believed in him as much as that little girl's dad obviously believed in her, he was happy for her because even though he didn't know who she was, it was clear to Peeta that she was someone worth knowing.

* * *

_Present Day_

Milky clouds streaked the broad expanse of obsidian sky, obscuring the moon and stars and creating a veil of darkness that fell heavily, making the hour seem much later than it actually was. From behind the wheel of a white crew-cab truck, Katniss Everdeen's eyes threatened to close, but she didn't pull over as someone was expecting her.

Someone who was as much her opposite as the noonday sky was to the midnight hour.

Cancelling would be as easy as dialing the phone, owning up to her exhaustion and making plans for another time. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, even though it had been a long week working twelve-hour shifts of back-breaking labor. More than anything Katniss needed a hot shower, a warm meal, and the comfort of her bed. Instead though, she sought out him and _his_ hot shower and _his_ bed.

_Can I still come?_ She had texted him when her shift finally ended.

His response was immediate and filled her mind with fantasies which kept her company during the forty-five mile trek to his home: _I plan on making that happen more than once_. Heat flooded her core, his words a dirty promise Katniss planned on making sure he made good on.

Katniss preferred it like this, when they were entirely focused on the physical element of their relationship. It was easier than when Peeta wanted to discuss deeper feelings, or when he wondered aloud about finally telling their friends about the relationship. Focusing simply on how it felt when he was moving inside of her was much easier to deal with than the clench in her chest or the longing she couldn't deny that she felt for him after they hadn't seen one another in a while.

_Mellark _Energy. All it took was a reminder of his last name - the same last name emblazoned on the side of her work truck and on her paycheck - to solidify her resolve. It would be best if things remained casual between them.

The long winding driveway lead to yet another reminder of how drastically different their lives were. A pair of pillars framed the entryway of a large, well-maintained house, highlighted by perfectly manicured landscaping and a porch swing which she was positive he (or any Mellark) hadn't ever had time to swing in.

For the first time since she'd made the decision to visit Peeta earlier that night, Katniss felt hesitant. When they were apart, it was easy to forget what separated them. But sitting in his drive, in view of the grandeur of his home, she was suddenly very conscious of the fact that she did not belong in Peeta's world.

Still, despite the discomfort of these realizations, she smoothed back her hair with her grease-stained hands and walked herself up to his door.

...

The lights of Katniss's truck shining through the window had alerted Peeta to her arrival. A smile spread from one side of his face to the other as he rose to his feet and placed his tumbler of amber liquid on the end table. He had been waiting for this moment since he got her text. Quite simply put, he lived for her visits - nothing else could make him feel as alive as her touch. He pulled the door open before she had a chance to knock, stretching his hand out to take hers as she crossed the threshold, and then held her tightly against his body. Peeta didn't care if her worn coveralls were caked in mud or that her hands were covered in layers of grime and grease. He just needed to feel her as close to him as possible.

They were quite the pair: Katniss with her messy braid and filthy coveralls unzipped and hanging off her hips, the black men's crew neck she wore underneath faded to a dingy grey from innumerable washings. Her boot-clad feet were wedged between his own, and while they both wore leather footwear, his were imported Italian and hers were steel toe.

Her stomach grumbled loudly, bringing a blush to her cheeks and a chuckle from Peeta. "Hungry?" he asked.

She responded by lifting her lips to his and covering them with a kiss. She was hungry, in more ways than one. Dinner could wait.

Within minutes, they had made their way up to the expansive en-suite bathroom. Katniss' sweat-stained cotton tee was quickly tossed to the floor in a crumpled heap alongside Peeta's tailored, double-stitched dress shirt. Her grubby fingers left streaks of dirt on the pristine marble shower tiles and on Peeta's rippling shoulder muscles as she clung to him, but he didn't care - he only wanted her. He backed her soapy body up against the shower wall, cupping her breasts in his hands and thrusting gently against her stomach as they kissed.

"Peeta," Katniss murmured into his mouth, and that was all it took to convey how much she wanted him in that moment.

At the sound of his name, he deftly spun her around, pressing into her back as he pinned her wrists to the wall above her head. He held her captive with one hand while his other slipped around her hips and between her legs. Peeta easily spread her thighs with a nudge of his knee, widening her stance and making it easier for him to slip his digits between her folds. She pressed her ass back into him, her nipples grazing the cool marble tile as he tortured her slowly with his fingers.

Peeta rested his chin on her shoulder. "We're going to take our time tonight..." he trailed off, laying kisses on her flushed skin. "I want to see how many times I can make you come before the hot water runs out." His fingers traced delicate swirls across her clit, causing Katniss to chant his name like a mantra, panting and desperate for release. Peeta didn't make her wait long, increasing the speed of his fingers in response to her moans and urging her to let go.

Katniss was still quivering from her orgasm when her phone interrupted them the first time, the droning, generic tone of her dated phone pulling her from her daze.

"Ignore it," Peeta breathed as he released her wrists, turning her to face him. He planted his hands on either side of her head. She needed no convincing, immediately distracted by the hot, hard length of his cock nestled between them. Their lips connected once again in a heated kiss and Katniss moaned softly, lifting a leg and wrapping it around his hip to urge their bodies together.

Peeta had just started to enter her when his Blackberry - the one he used exclusively for work calls - began to vibrate loudly somewhere in the discarded pile of clothing on the bathroom floor. He groaned in frustration, leaning his forehead against the wall. "I have voicemail," he panted, although he did briefly wonder who could be calling his business line so late at night.

"Peeta," Katniss murmured, capturing his face between her hands and drawing his attention back to her. "Fuck me." She quirked her eyebrows up in a heated expression. "Please?"

At that, he growled low in his throat and renewed his grip on her body - one hand on her small waist, the other firmly holding the back of her neck - and began to rhythmically drive himself up into her. Peeta drank in every expression on Katniss's face while she tilted her head back against the tile, squeezing her eyes shut and getting lost in the sensation. She could ignore Peeta's obvious worship of her - the little kisses, the loving whispers - but she couldn't ignore the damn ringtone of her phone as it began to chirp once more. She was never going to come again if they kept getting interrupted by their cell phones.

"Damn it! Just stop," Katniss moaned breathlessly, pushing at Peeta's shoulder. "Just stop. Give me a second."

Peeta groaned as their bodies disconnected. "Katniss-"

"Just a sec," she insisted, pushing open the fogged-up glass door and kneeling down to fumble through their pile of clothing, looking for the source of the noise. "Where are you, you stupid thing!" she hissed, her hair dripping water all over the floor. Peeta turned the shower off at the exact moment that she found her phone, flipped it open and lifted it to her ear.

"Hello?"

...

Katniss only vaguely registered what was going on around her. The nurses had long since given up on trying to console her, and the hospital chaplain who sat nearby maintained his distance. It was only when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her body and Peeta's familiar, comforting scent enveloped her that she allowed herself to relax. She curled into his chest and sat that way for a while, cocooned in his arms as her tears soaked the front of his soft cotton shirt. It wasn't until she felt a dripping sensation on the back of her neck that she realized Peeta was crying too. His sobs were soundless, but his chest heaved painfully with his efforts to stay silent.

"You didn't have to come with me," she hiccupped as she finally pried herself out of his embrace and stood to face him, suddenly remembering her desire to keep her feelings separate from his.

Peeta stood slowly, straightening his pants and wiping at his eyes before reaching for her hand. "No. I had to be here anyway." When Katniss only looked at him questioningly through her tears, he went on to explain, "I'm Finnick's next of kin. His mother has been gone for a few years now, and he's been estranged from his brother ever since he refused to take over the family business." The news seemed to startle her, even though it shouldn't have since she knew that the two of them had been best friends. "I knew you'd be Annie's," Peeta continued, "but... but I just never thought that this is what would be waiting for us on the other end of those telephone calls."

His words reminded her why she was standing in a hospital hallway, trying her best not to throw herself back into his comforting arms. _The Odairs were involved in a motor-vehicle accident earlier this evening, the officer on duty had said. A fatal head-on collision, he had called it._

"She's gone." The words stuck in her throat and came out as a garbled moan as a fresh wave of tears sprang to Katniss' eyes.

"They both are," Peeta affirmed over his own tears. He reached out to draw her close once more, but this only caused her to withdraw further, dropping his hand completely and tucking it into her pocket. Her response made him realize how very different things were from just two hours ago when she'd been writhing against him in the shower, wrapping her arms and legs around him entirely pulling him deeper into her body. He was hurt. This hurt. His best friend was gone and the woman who he loved was noticeably pulling away.

As the night wore on, the physical and emotional space grew between them. Katniss distanced herself even further from Peeta until, finally, they were left sitting several feet apart on the lone bench in the hallway. Peeta remained motionless at one end, head in his hands, while Katniss had tucked into herself in a ball with her knees curled up under her chin at the other. Both of their heads perked up, though, as they heard the approaching squeak of rubber shoes on linoleum.

The man in green surgical scrubs with glasses hanging around his neck and a surgical cap scrunched in his hands cleared his throat. "Mr. Mellark? Ms. Everdeen? I've got some news about the Odair boy."

The news made them weep all over again, but this time they were tears of relief. Little Finn- Finnick Jr. - was still in critical condition, but at least he was finally stable. The trauma to his brain had been minimal, but his legs had bore the brunt of the impact with severe femoral breaks that would require extensive therapy in order to allow him to walk again.

His parents were gone and the only people he had left in the world were their best friends, Katniss and Peeta. But he was alive, and that was the important thing.

* * *

_2003, Age 17_

"I dunno, Katniss. I think Gale Hawthorne is bad news. He won't let go of the thing about our dads, and he's going to run his mouth to the wrong person."

"You wanna talk about bad news? Look at these two buffoons!" Katniss extended one slender arm, browned by the summer sun, towards the two guys approaching the drink cart she and Annie were operating. They looked like all the other preppie assholes that frequented the club, with their popped-collar polo shirts and sharply pressed Docker shorts ending right above the knee. Obviously, they were the sons of powerful, wealthy businessmen, just like the ones who had refused to pay out families like hers, Gale's and Annie's after the rig accident that had killed their fathers.

Some days Katniss wondered why she had even agreed to take this job, waiting on rich jerks for six- to eight-hour shifts in the blistering heat. But then she reminded herself that she had Prim and her mother to take care of - and Annie now, too, seeing as she'd had no family to take her in after the accident and Annie's own mother took off with another man years ago. Working at the club might've been a minimum wage job, but at least it provided the two girls with a steady income that put meals on their table.

Annie turned to look and then smiled back at Katniss. "Trouble is looking good these days. Check out that one with the auburn hair. He's downright beautiful."

"I guarantee he knows that," scoffed Katniss, taking a second look and realizing, at the exact moment the words fell from her lips, that she recognized _Trouble's_ striking blond friend.

Peeta Mellark, the youngest of the Mellarks - the very family whose lack of safety protocols caused her father's death as well as the deaths of countless others on that horrific day - was likely home for the summer from some prestigious private boarding school. Despite the heat, Katniss's blood suddenly ran cold. She immediately busied herself with counting the stock in the cooler so she wouldn't have to make eye contact or speak to him as he and his friend approached. Yet as luck would have it, the tall bronze-haired boy - Finnick, as he introduced himself - zeroed right in on a smiling Annie, leaving Katniss staring awkwardly into Peeta Mellark's vibrant blue eyes.

"Hot day," he finally commented, the corners of his mouth turning up good-naturedly. "You're Katniss, right?"

"Yes," she answered, baffled as to how he knew her name until she remembered that she was wearing her nametag. She hated to admit it, but his eyes were kind of hypnotizing.

"It'd sure be nice to have a few cold drinks, don't you think?" he suggested, rubbing a bead of sweat from the side of his tanned neck.

"Oh... oh, right," Katniss stumbled, remembering that it was her job to sell him drinks and not just stare at him. Stupid. She began to methodically list off the drink menu. "We have Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite-"

"Um, I'll just take a couple of bottles of water for now. Finnick? What do you want to drink?" Peeta asked, interrupting Finnick and Annie's shy conversation. Katniss couldn't help but notice that his cheeks suddenly seemed pinker before - perhaps from too much sun, or maybe from embarrassment? Had he been trying to flirt with her?

"I have a better idea," answered Finnick, never once taking his eyes off Annie. "How about the four of us meet up for drinks at the pier this evening?"

"That sounds wonderful!" Annie chirped "We would love-"

"I have plans," Katniss interjected before her friend could accept the date on both their behalves. "Sorry. I'm busy." No matter how attractive Peeta Mellark was, she would not allow herself to meet someone like him down at the pier for drinks. Having to talk to him here at the cart was one thing - she was forced to, it was her job - but go on a date?

That wouldn't happen in a million years.

* * *

_Present Day_

An outrageous number of floral arrangements filled the small chapel, their cloying fragrance hanging heavily in the air, surrounding mourners and suffocating Katniss. Laid out in the front of the chapel were two matching coffins, both closed and angled toward one another. The only thing differentiating the two were the poster-sized portraits beside each coffin, one of a smiling Finnick and another of a blushing Annie.

In between the ornate boxes was a third photo; this was the one that tugged at Katniss's heart the most. It was of Finnick, Annie, and Finn on the day that he had been born. Annie appeared radiant, even in the hospital gown, smiling for Katniss (who had been behind the camera) and cradling her new son close to her chest. Finnick's arms were wrapped around the pair, his gaze not turned towards the camera but towards the bundle wrapped in his beloved wife's arms, love evident in his eyes and his embrace.

Disinterested with the others in attendance, Katniss had seated herself in the very front row, expression set into an emotionless scowl and seemingly oblivious to the people filing into the small space. Peeta, however, stood in the back, greeting all that came through the door, filling in the mourners concerning Finn's condition, and welcoming the hugs and condolences that Katniss could not bear to accept.

He dealt with it all so effortlessly that it incensed Katniss. If he was feeling any pain he was doing a good job of hiding it. She understood that he had been best friends with Finnick, but Finnick and Annie were gone now and she had made it clear that she would be the one taking care of their child. She was there at the hospital as much as the nurses would allow her, never wanting little Finn to be by himself for long stretches. He had started asking for Mama and Daddy, and she had been left with the painful, difficult job of explaining to the precious four-year-old that his aunt Katniss was all whom he had left to call for.

She vaguely registered Peeta joining her in the pew. When his thigh brushed against hers, she almost reached over to grab his hand, out of habit, but she caught herself at the last minute. It had been one thing to let him hold her in the hospital. That was over now, she reminded herself; it would be better this way, with less confusion.

However, when the service began, Katniss found herself crying again. Not the hard, heavy sobs that had wracked her body the night of the accident, but quiet tears that slipped down her cheeks and dampened the front of her skirt. As the minister reminisced about Finnick's playful side and Annie's quiet tenacity, the tears began to flow faster and Peeta wrapped his arm around her, tugging her shoulders tightly up against his side. She hated to admit that it felt good - the physical contact and the tangible link with someone else who shared in her grief – but it did. She found herself leaning into his touch, letting the smell of his aftershave distract her from the proceedings of the funeral.

Her resolve not to let him in shattered when he squeezed her tightly, pressed a kiss to her head, and stood to take his place at the podium. The eulogy seemed to flow from him effortlessly, retelling cherished memories about good times with his best friend. Peeta's eyes found hers and held her gaze the entire time that he spoke. When he moved on to talk about how Finnick and Annie had met, Katniss found herself smiling slightly at the memory of how hotly Finnick had pursued her best friend. She found herself riveted by Peeta and his speech, under his trance, his words easing the weary weight that had settled over her since she had received that terrible phone call. He'd had this relaxing effect on her once before, as she recalled - on the night of the Odair's wedding.

But, as he closed, Peeta caught her off guard. "It'll be an honor to raise little Finn, and it's my honest hope that I can do just half the job that his mom and dad would have done."

Katniss sat in a dazed stupor. _What? _It was clear that _she_ was the best person to raise him. She and Annie had practically been sisters, which would've made little Finn her nephew. Sure, Peeta may have been Finnick's choice, but she had not expected that he would even want to become the child's guardian. If he thought that they were suddenly in this together, or that their casual flings had evolved into more because of these tragic events, he was wrong. As soon as she realized that people were filing past her and the service had ended, she stood up and marched straight over to Peeta.

"Absolutely not. No. Finn is coming home with me," Katniss spat, anger washed over her, obliterating the shock from the previous moment and leaving only rage in its wake.

Peeta's mouth dropped open as some mourners turned to see what the commotion was all about. "Katniss, please this isn't the-"

"I don't _fucking_ care if it isn't the time, Peeta Mellark! Finn belongs with me," she cut him off, mid-plea, then turned and stalked towards the doors before wheeling back around and jabbing a finger in his direction. "He belongs with family. Annie was _my_ family, and now_ I _am _Finn's _family."

Katniss marched out the door muttering curse words under her breath the entire way, letting the flood of anger overwhelm her because it was much easier to deal with than the stabbing pain of grief.

* * *

_2008, Age 23_

The tinkling of metal on glass rang out from the speakers hanging on the wall, silencing the wedding guests and drawing their attention to the front of the room. Katniss had excused herself from the head table and was standing in the back, refilling her drink. Her feet ached from the heels she was unused to wearing, and she was weary of the crowd and the noise, but it was all worth it to see Annie, radiant in her wedding gown and beaming at Finnick.

Peeta, the best man, stood in front of the microphone waiting for the room to fall silent so that he could start his toast. He had agreed to speak on behalf of the both of them, much to Katniss's relief. She had been so paralyzed at the thought of public speaking that she'd almost turned down the role of being Annie's maid of honor.

The wedding guests were entranced by Peeta's words as he regaled them with stories of Finnick and Annie's love. Katniss found herself laughing, sighing, and almost crying at his toast. He was so talented with words, weaving the stories together so effortlessly that she felt as though she were reliving each moment as it happened. When he wrapped up the speech, wishing the happy couple longevity and love, she realized that she would have to thank him for taking this burden from her and executing it more successfully than she ever could have.

Katniss waited until he was by himself, which was longer than she had hoped for, before the crowd finally dwindled and she dared to approach. Annie and Finnick were taking lazy turns on the dance floor, sneaking kisses, giggling, entirely wrapped up in one another.

The blond man sat in a chair near the dance floor, watching the couple turn and spin. Katniss came up from behind him. "Peeta?" Her voice was barely a whisper, and she had to repeat herself a little louder. "Peeta?"

He startled, jumping almost completely out of his seat before turning to face her. "Christ!" Peeta smiled at her as he placed a hand over his heart, blue eyes dancing with mirth, "Oh, Katniss! You scared the shit out of me. Where did you come from?" He pushed the chair out beside him and motioned for her to sit.

"Over there." She nodded towards the back of the room where she had been hiding out, "I didn't mean to scare you."

Peeta motioned to the chair again. "No, it's okay. Please join me. I'm just watching these two goofballs forget the rest of their guests." His mouth stretched wide in a flash of white teeth and dimples. "It's been a long time in the making, hasn't it?" he asked.

Referencing that first day that the four of them had met caused Katniss a deep pang of guilt. She felt bad for the way that she had ignored Peeta, then and over the years; the favor he had done for her tonight by giving the wedding toast had given her a new appreciation for just how kind he really was.

"I enjoyed your speech. Um, and I can't thank you enough for speaking for both of us. I know I didn't offer any assistance, but the words you said, well I couldn't have said them any better even though I'd mean them just as much as you." Katniss chewed on her bottom lip, nerves evident, but if Peeta noticed, he didn't let on and carried the conversation from there. She felt at ease in his presence as he launched into more stories about Finnick. It was obvious that they were dear friends, close in a way that she could understand because she and Annie shared the same bond.

However, there was a major difference.

Katniss and Annie had become close as a means of survival, working together to keep their makeshift family afloat. They supported one another through double shifts and piss-poor tips. They budgeted together and learned strategies for stretching their meager wages in order to stay fed and clothed. The girls were like family and took care of one another as such.

Finnick and Peeta were close because of their similar backgrounds as the indulged sons of wealthy men. Their parents had all the money they could ever need, but they prioritized that money over quality time with their children. The two boys had been there for one another whenever their families had chosen money over quality time.

The fact that she and Peeta came from two different worlds was ever-present in the forefront of Katniss' mind, even as she realized that there might possibly be something brewing between the two of them. She was definitely attracted to him; the slight wave in his wheat-colored hair just begged to be touched and his earnest blue eyes made heat flood her extremities. She had always known that he was handsome, but it was only when listening to him speak that it dawned on her just exactly _how _handsome he really was.

She couldn't forget their circumstances, though. The ways in which they were incompatible outnumbered those in which her heart ached to know him better.

So when they parted ways that night, long after Finnick and Annie had departed for their honeymoon, it was bittersweet. When Peeta asked if he could see her again, she just smiled at him softly, never answering but letting him believe that she was open to the idea. In her heart, however, she knew that it couldn't happen. It seemed that the barriers between them were too great to prevent them from ever becoming something truly meaningful to one another.

* * *

_Present Day_

The dull throb of a headache pulsed behind Peeta's eyes. He was drained – emotionally, physically, and mentally – but his day was far from over. After the scene at the funeral, he did the best that he could to downplay Katniss's emotional outburst. He had no clue where it had come from, and while he understood that her temperament could occasionally border on unpleasant, he had never anticipated such a volatile reaction to his assumption that Finn would be living with him.

Peeta had no clue why Katniss believed the child should be going home with her, to a single-wide trailer at the edge of town with a sagging porch and crooked plastic shutters. Surely she didn't believe that Finn would be better there when the extent of his medical needs was clear. His physical therapy alone would exhaust the Odairs' meager life insurance benefits, and there was no way that Katniss could afford to follow through with his rigid rehabilitation schedule.

Furthermore, her accusation that Finn belonged with family stung more than her blatant disregard for him over the past week. The way in which she had cavalierly spelled out that their relationship had been nothing but a fling to her - a means of sexual release - had upset him. For him, it had meant much more, and he had even believed it to be the beginnings of a potential commitment. At this point, getting Finn healthy and bringing him home was the only thing keeping him going.

The pulsing behind his eyes intensified as he stepped into the harsh fluorescent lighting of the hospital corridor and then turned in to Finn's darkened room. Peeta wasn't surprised to see Katniss balled up in the stock recliner in the corner, a thin hospital-grade blanket tucked around her. He regarded her carefully: the distinct slope of her nose, the easy exhale of her breath through her puckered pink lips. It seemed a shame to wake her; she was so peaceful and unlike awake Katniss. It reminded him of when they had been together, of the occasional trysts they shared and how Katniss would snuggle into the small of his back afterwards, breathing hotly against his skin as she clutched his waist.

He had to wake her; they had to have this discussion, and he rather it be now instead of later. Peeta's mother was already insisting that a lawyer be hired to settle this matter, the best that money could buy to ensure that Katniss didn't get anywhere near the Odairs' money. That's how she had expressed it too: "_Peeta we don't want her getting that money_. _That's the only reason why she wants to raise the boy by herself_." The thing that his mother hadn't realized was that there wasn't actually any money left. When Finnick had separated himself from his family, he had walked away from his trust fund as well.

Katniss gasped in her sleep, her eyelids twitching and her body tensing. They had shared enough nights together for Peeta to recognize the beginnings of a nightmare, and so, with a gentle shake, he woke the sleeping woman.

She startled before regaining consciousness, tense beneath his fingertips. Then her eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the green glow of ambient light from the medical equipment of the room. "What are you doing here?" she asked groggily, scrubbing the back of her hand over her eyes. Peeta pinched the bridge of his nose in a futile attempt to ward off his own growing migraine. He was too worn down to even preface what he needed to say with polite pleasantries and cut straight to the chase.

"Katniss, both of our names are on those wills. Finnick and Annie wanted us both to be guardians, so we are in this together whether you like it or not. My mother is threatening to get the lawyers involved if you deny Finn any access to-"

Katniss sat straight up. "I would never deny Finn anything," she growled, low and prickly. "What does your mother know?"

"She knows that you don't have all the... the_ resources _you'd need to provide for Finn and his physiotherapy. Plus, you work full-time and would never be able to take care of him on your own. We both think that he would be better off living at my place."

At this, Katniss's jaw dropped open incredulously, but Peeta hurried his explanation before she could get upset. "Just listen. Hear me out. I know how devoted you are to Finn, so I fought this with her, and we came to a decision which I think may be best for all of us. If you leave your job, my family would be willing to hire you as Finn's caretaker and pay you a generous salary, all while providing for him and paying his medical bills. You could both live at my place. That way you could still take care of him... and yourself."

Katniss sat quietly for a moment, almost frozen in place. The only sound in the hospital room was the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Then she rose to her feet, practically shaking with rage.

"How dare you!" She spat, her eyes filling with angry tears. "How dare you try to... to scare me off with high-priced lawyers! To tell me to quit my job! To... to _buy _me!"

"This isn't an easy situation for anyone involved," Peeta insisted, levelling his voice so it wouldn't betray just how hurt he was. "Sacrifices will have to be made." After all, it would destroy him to see Katniss in his home every single day, knowing that she never regarded what they'd shared as anything more than a fling. But this was no game, his emotional pain would have to be put aside for little Finn's sake.

The truth was that Peeta had fought hard against his family just to be able to make this offer to Katniss. The Mellarks had been prepared to go straight to litigation until he had begged them to let him resolve the dual guardianship outside of court, for the sake of the broken little boy.

But of course, Katniss was oblivious to all this. "Let me make one thing clear, Peeta," she said, her voice quaking, "It may be true that we are both his guardians. But you will _never_ be guardian over _me_."

* * *

_2011, Age 27_

Peeta believed that he would recognize Katniss Everdeen anywhere. He thought of her from time-to-time, often wondering what he could have said or done differently to get her to notice him while Finnick was busy successfully wooing Annie. He'd had his chance at their wedding reception; she had opened up to him, and he had made her laugh. Even with the assistance of alcohol, Peeta felt it to be a major feat to see the solemn woman smile.

After that, he assumed that he would see more of her; their best friends were now spouses and didn't that kind of thing mean that they would run into one another occasionally at barbeques and other get-togethers? It didn't happen, though, and Finnick pretty much told him to stop expecting anything. Katniss was uncomfortable around anyone but Annie and avoided crowds at all costs.

Peeta only saw Katniss once in the early years of Finnick and Annie's marriage. She was there when they welcomed their first child. They exchanged pleasantries and complimented the baby and that was the extent of their involvement. Their interactions had been so formal and sparse that he didn't even have the nerve to ask for her number.

So when Katniss walked into the ballroom of the Mellark Energy's annual Christmas party, Peeta had to look twice to confirm that the woman in heels and a tiny black dress with the upswept hair was really the same one he had harbored a crush on since their teenage years.

She wasn't surprised to see him, though, which only made sense once she revealed that she - along with everyone else in attendance - had only come to the party because it was mandatory in order to pick up their holiday bonus checks. It turned out that Katniss had reluctantly taken a position as a roustabout on a rigging crew for Mellark Energy earlier than year - the same position that her father had worked before his death - because it paid well, and her family needed the money. Peeta felt his cheeks warm when he realized that she had been right under his nose as one of his employees for the last six months, and he hadn't once taken notice of her.

Their conversation quickly grew tense and awkward, and Katniss soon excused herself to speak with a dark-headed man on the other side of the room. Mortified, Peeta assumed that it would be the last time he ever spoke to her as she walked away, her discomfort evident as she tugged at the hem of her slinky dress.

Peeta found these parties uncomfortable, too, but in a different way. They were a necessary means, a way of appreciating and paying notice to their valuable employees, but the dividing line was clear between the physical laborers and the executives, and that sort of class distinction bothered him. He eventually excused himself from the crowd, stepping out onto the veranda for some fresh air and a change of scenery. He was nursing a drink that desperately needed refreshing when he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned.

The sight of Katniss made the breath catch in his throat. Her cheeks were tinged with a light blush and her grey eyes were wide as if she wasn't quite sure how she came to be standing in front of him. He immediately straightened. "Enjoying the party?"

"These things aren't really my forte," she quietly admitted as their eyes locked.

"I know what you mean," Peeta confessed, watching as Katniss toyed with the ends of the curling locks of hair that expertly draped her face. He fought the urge to reach out and wrap a tendril of her hair around his finger, to run the strands between his fingers and see if they felt as silky as they looked. "You look beautiful tonight," he complimented, noticing that her cheeks burned brighter at his words. Peeta wasn't sure why she had sought him out, but he wasn't complaining.

He wasn't drunk, not even close, but the atmosphere between them seemed electric, like they were standing on the precipice of something that he couldn't quite define. "Annie dressed me, and Finnick had a grand old time at my expense. I feel a bit ridiculous and it shows," Katniss muttered. She scowled and clenched her fists in front of herself nervously.

"Ah, he was just teasing. You are breathtaking," Peeta answered, reaching over to pick up her balled-up hands and smooth them out between his own. She did not pull away from his touch; instead she looked up at him from under her eyelashes, as if she had something she wanted to say.

This was entirely new territory. Peeta was treading in unfamiliar waters, but she was allowing him to touch her. He wanted to kiss her, but he didn't. He had waited so long for an opening like this and he didn't want to mess it up.

"Can I help you with something, Katniss?"

Instead of answering, she abruptly moved in towards him and pressed her lips to his. It was a searing, open mouthed kiss that reflected years of unresolved sexual tension and repressed feelings. Peeta quickly sunk into the sensation and returned her desire. Their mouths moved heatedly – opening, pulling, pressing, and licking in a frenzied, hurried fashion.

"I, I wanted to ask…" she panted against his lips, tugging on his lapel, before she stopped to kiss him again, tracing the seam of his lips lightly with her tongue before breaking away. "If we leave early, do I still get my bonus?"

...

She was unlike any other woman, and he couldn't get enough of it. The way his hands easily fit around the circumference of her waist; the surprising strength in her petite, feminine frame as she pushed him up against the wall of the parking garage. She claimed his mouth with hot, hungry kisses that made him feel like she was devouring him – and he wanted to be consumed.

The mere touch of her skin against his was intoxicating, casting a spell over him with each rough pass of her calloused hands. Her fingers curled into the wispy hairs at the base of his neck as she leaned over the console of his car to nip at his earlobes. Her nose nuzzled at his jaw as her impatience with how long it was taking to get to his place became increasingly evident.

Her hands were all over him in the car - running over the fabric of his jacket, tracing the lines of his neck - but as soon as they crossed the threshold of his front door she became demure; averting eye contact, caging her lips between her teeth, shifting nervously on her borrowed high heels.

He then became the instigator. He slipped her dress from her shoulders, letting it pool at her feet in an inky puddle of silk. The sight of her standing before him in nothing but a matching set of lace underwear took his breath away. She was stunning. The moonlight accentuated the strong planes and curves of her body. All traces of the roughneck rig worker were gone, and all that remained was the lovely, enchanting form of a woman. Peeta felt as though he could gaze upon her for days and still not have enough.

Her flavor was addictive to him; the salty tang of her skin as he licked from her from lips to neck to nipples was almost more than he could handle. Until the moment that his lips were on her body, he hadn't fully realized what he had been missing during all these years of having her so close and yet so far away. He knew now that he would always crave her taste. It was unique. It was precious to him. It was completely Katniss.

He memorized and cherished every noise she made. Katniss had always seemed quiet, but the first touch of his tongue to the sensitive, slick folds between her legs left her panting and pleading for more. He thought he would never tire of the way his name fell from her lips - throaty and wanton, lilting musically, rising until the second syllable was much higher than the first.

When he pushed into her he knew that nothing would ever be the same again. She rolled her hips until they were flush with his and grasped his sides tightly to hold him in place as she adjusted to his size. Peeta pressed his forehead to hers as she hitched her knees up on either side of his body and began moving with him, then moaning with him, and, finally, reaching completion with him.

At first, Peeta had thought that it was just Katniss who was different - but after being with her, if was he who was changed. He fell asleep that night more content and fulfilled than ever before.

He awoke the next morning to a cold and empty bed.

* * *

_Present Day_

The letter from Mellark Energy felt heavy in her hand. The envelope looked different from the ones that her paystubs came in; it wasn't any thicker, but she had to go to the post office to pick it up because it came by certified mail. It held ominous implications and she couldn't bring herself it open it – she couldn't lose her job, but Peeta had implied his mother was already sniffing around, looking for reasons to get her out of the picture. They had no grounds to fire her, did they?

The contents of the letter were concerning and confusing. Apparently there was an act that protected Katniss's job for twelve weeks if she was caring for a family member, but after twelve weeks, she could be terminated for being absent. They weren't going to pay her when her accrued leave ran out, but they were required by law to hold her position for three months.

Three months wasn't going to be enough though. Finn was still in serious condition. His life was no longer in peril, but his physical recovery would take over a year, and they had not even begun to address his possible emotional trauma. The letter in front of her spelled out the realities of the situation that she hadn't been ready to face before. Peeta had tried to warn her, but it wasn't his job to help keep her afloat. She'd made sure of that, pushing him away at every turn.

Their last conversation still had her reeling. Her ex-lover had made some excellent points, ones that Katniss had been putting off thinking about. On top of her own bills to worry about, the Odair's life insurance would never stretch far enough to cover Finn's medical fees. Plus, she knew that Finnick had been cut off from his family for quite some time and he and Annie hadn't had much in the way of savings.

But Peeta could ensure that Finn had all the resources necessary for his recovery, taking care of him in a way that Katniss was unable to. She didn't have the money to even pay for a consultation with a lawyer, and if the Mellarks took this to court, she could lose access to Finn altogether. But if she moved in with Peeta, he would give her a job, and she could be with the little boy all the way through his recovery.

The letter fluttered from her fingers to the table as she realized that Peeta's offer was not just the best option – it was the only option.

Katniss sat at the table for hours, trying to muster the strength to call him. She had been horrible to him at the hospital and wasn't even sure if the offer still stood. Finally, she dialed his number. It rang twice before he picked up, his voice heavy with sleep as he croaked her name. "Katniss? Katniss are you there? Is everything okay?"

"I'm here. Finn's fine. Uh, I…Sorry it's late. I don't think I realized how late it was," she stammered, trying to steady her breathing and manage the courage to admit that she needed him. She needed his offer.

"That's a relief," he sighed heavily in response. Katniss knew that sigh, and she could almost imagine what he looked like now, wrapped in his sheets, pressing the pads of his thumbs to his eyes.

For a moment, the line went quiet save for their breathing punctuating the silence. The Katniss cleared her throat. "I'll do it. You're right. It's the best option for all of us."

"I'm sorry. I'm a bit fuzzy. Your call woke me. You're going to do what?"

Admitting that she needed him was possibly the hardest thing she'd ever done. "If the offer still stands, I think Finn and I should come live with you."

...

The day before Finn was released from the hospital, Katniss officially moved into Peeta's house. She had slept in his home a many times before, but she had never really acquainted herself with the rest place. She was shocked to discover, though, that he'd converted the entire back of the house into spaces for herself and the little boy.

There were two bedrooms: one decorated with a cheerful "under the sea" theme and another in deep hues of green. The room for Finn was filled with books, toys, and even a bed that was fashioned to resemble an old shipwreck. Katniss's room had an adjoining bathroom, plush carpet, and a beautiful mahogany sleigh bed. The last addition was a physiotherapy room filled with equipment and mats, everything that Finn needed for rehabilitation.

"I figure we can make it a play room once he's back on his feet," came Peeta's voice from behind her. "Sorry that there is only a bathtub in your bathroom. With all of the renovations there wasn't time to add a shower, but you can take showers upstairs for now if you like."

Katniss remembered the last shower she had taken upstairs, and heat flooded her cheeks, wondering if he, too, was remembering what they had been doing before that night before their lives had been forever changed. "Um, it's perfect Peeta, really it is. Finn's going to love his room."

"Finnick grew up by the ocean. He claimed he could wield a trident, but I'm pretty sure he was bullshitting because I never saw him do it when we vacationed down there." Peeta's voice was wistful as he remembered his friend; she could tell that he missed him just as much as she missed Annie.

Katniss once again found that his words had the effect of putting her at ease. "So that's why Finn loves the ocean so much - the time they spent by the shore and the stories his dad would tell. Really, Peeta the rooms are perfect. His and my own. Thank you."

He turned to her, his lip quirking in a sad smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, "I know the situation isn't ideal, but hopefully you'll come to feel at home here."

Slowly, through weeks of stilted exchanges and awkward shared meals, Peeta's house eventually did start to feel like home. They fell into a routine. Most days Peeta would be up and out of the house before she and Finn awoke, working until early afternoon and then coming home to help with the boy's afternoon therapies or to drive him to his counseling sessions in town. If he had meetings that caused him to work late, he would bring pizza and other treats home with him, a means of making up for the time he missed.

The awkwardness eventually passed and Katniss began to get the feeling that she could count on Peeta. She had been so fiercely independent her whole life that it was a huge breakthrough to realize that accepting help wasn't such a terrible thing after all. There was something about that which eased her constant loneliness, and with that came the knowledge that while their world would never be the same as it had been before, they could still find happiness and maybe someday all would seem right again.

Not every day was easy; in fact, some were incredibly hard, and Katniss would meet Peeta at the door frazzled and ready for a break. Finn was healing, but in many ways he had regressed emotionally and developmentally from the trauma of the accident and losing his parents. He was prone to temper tantrums and fits. But they dealt with it together, drawing strength from each other; and there were other, sweeter times when Peeta would come home to find the two snuggled up watching a movie or playing the little boy's favorite board game, Candyland. In many ways, Katniss and Finn brought him that sense of familial warmth and companionship that he'd always longed for.

Reading together was another beloved pastime of theirs; it was something that one of them did with Finn every night. Most often it was Peeta who curled beside him in bed, taking care to mimic different inflections for each character and often eliciting so many giggles from the boy that Katniss would come in and insist that it was time for lights out. Yet other times it was Katniss who read to him, her voice soft and melodic as it lulled him to sleep.

Finn would sometimes request that both of them come and snuggle with him during story time. Peeta was usually given the task of reading aloud since he did the voices so well, entertaining the child as well as Katniss. On one such occasion, after Finn had fallen asleep between them, Peeta continued to read just for her. Katniss was happy to stay and listen. She had been marveling the way the light from the bedside lamp illuminated his pale eyelashes when he finished the story and looked up to catch her staring.

"Do you think that only children's books have happy endings?" he eventually murmured, dropping the book to his lap.

Katniss thought about it for a minute, caught in his gaze, then slowly shook her head. "Of course not."

They both moved to close the gap between their lips at the same time, sharing a kiss over the sleeping child between them. It was tender and hesitant at first – the curious meeting of two mouths shyly becoming reacquainted with one another – but it soon bloomed into something filled with all the honesty and depth that had developed between them over the past nine months.

Peeta and Katniss linked fingers as they pulled Finn's bedroom door shut behind them and silently made their way upstairs to the bedroom. They took each step slowly, content in the knowledge that while this wasn't their happy ending, it _was _a happy beginning.

* * *

**Big thank you to angylinni for the prompt and running the exchange!**

**Also, I have to thank my wonderful betas and friends, Court81981 (make sure to read her exchange piece _Into the Wild_), alexabee, and Wildharp! You guys are great and I wouldn't have been able to knock this out without your help! I love you all!**

**Please read and let me know what you think! **


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